229 NYPD Officers Disciplined For Misconduct in 2012

For the purposes of this study, a "complaint" is described as "a case stemming from a civilian encounter with police, in which the civilian believes the officer(s) committed acts of misconduct." Furthermore, "an individual complaint received by the CCRB can contain multiple allegations against one or more officers. Each allegation the agency investigates falls within one of four categories: force, abuse of authority, discourtesy and offensive language."

In total, the CCRB received 5,763 complaints in 2012, which represents a 3 percent decrease from 2011, when it received 5,969, and a 22 percent decrease from 2008, when it received 7,395.